Bertha Egnos & Gail Lakier's Ipi Ntombi The African Music Celebration (Original Cast Recording )

Regarded as one of South Africa's greatest exports, the hit musical 'Ipi Ntombi' was first performed in Johannesburg in the early '70s. Today, this classic illustration of African song and dance returns to the stage. The 85-year-old grande dame, Bertha Egnos, along with her daughter Gail Lakier, wrote the original songs for Eartha Kitt when approached by Kitt's promoters in the early 1970s. Kitt was to perform in South Africa and was keen to sing African tunes; however, she did not accept those offered to her. Eventually, the songs were extended and compiled into an LP. When contacted by Australian promoters who requested a play to accompany the music, the Egnos/Lakier mother-and-daughter team seized the opportunity, and 'Ipi Ntombi' was born.